15
Sketching
Cameron Storms
I’d like to thank Ronnie Taleon – who I found on figment.com – for providing the cover to Sketching.
It was a cloudy and chilly night, and Damian was riding on a small bumpy road with his three friends, Chloe, who he felt something more toward her than friendship, Alex, who was Chloe’s roommate, and Carson, the first person he met at college. It was Carson who was driving. It was his 2005 Black jeep Cherokee. At least once a week they all did this, taking turns on who would drive and pay the gas. Driving where the road took them was something they called ‘Sketching’.
Sketching always ended up leading them to some scary places they called shady and sketch. It was how they got the name. It had started one night when Damian and Chloe were bored and went out driving. They soon ended on a gravel road with creepy old barns surrounding them. They drove back as quickly as they could, not realizing how much fun they had actually had until later. Alex and Carson soon joined along and they made up a list of rules for sketching. Just for fun.
They were to never ask where they were or where they were going. The whole point in sketching was to drive to places you didn’t know. They were always to have a GPS with them for when their sketching night came to an end and they needed to get back to the campus. There were also rules on if they were attacked, then they were to stick together. Sure. It sounded immature for four college students, but they needed something fun to do to take a break from the stressful studying and homework.
“I swear, if it starts raining,” Chloe said from the back seat behind Damian. He turned around to see her playing with her wavy blond hair as usual. He loved her green eyes the most.
“Turn here!” Alex yelled from beside Chloe as they approached another side road. Carson braked quickly and turned in quickly. Alex and Chloe were best friends. Alex was someone who could throw anything on, use no makeup, and still look beautiful. Her shoulder length brown hair was something that took them a while to get use to. She had always had the longest straight hair until she decided to cut it recently.
Rain drops began falling from the sky. Carson turned on his wipers and continued down the road, wiping his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes so he could see clearer. They continued, leaving any city life behind them. The road grew narrower quickly as trees appeared on both sides, and soon seemed to be squeezing them. Alex looked around quickly as if out of fear.
“Should we turn around?” Alex asked.
“No!” Carson yelled out quickly. “Are you scared or something?” He laughed.
“Carson, quit it,” Chloe said. “She doesn’t like storms, remember?” Damian looked back to see Alex glancing around in panic. Alex had once told them of how a tornado hit her town when she was younger. It wiped away her house and even killed a school friend of hers.
“Do we need to turn around?” Damian asked her directly.
“Come on,” Carson mumbled in annoyance.
“I’m fine,” Alex said. “It’s all good. We checked the weather earlier. It’s only a light rain, nothing more.” Damian nodded his head.
“If you change your mind then we’ll turn around,” he told her.
All of a sudden, the car began bouncing. Alex and Chloe began screaming at once. Damian turned around to see they were driving blind due to a white powdery substance in the air. They were on a gravel road.
“Shit!” Carson screamed as he brought the car to a stop as fast as he could without slamming on the breaks.
“Is everyone okay?” Damian asked, mainly toward Alex who was already scared.
“Yeah we’re good,” Alex said.
“What the hell, Carson,” Chloe started. “Did you not know to slow down?”
“Well, if I would have known the road was going to abruptly turn into gravel then I would have.” They waited until the gravel dust settled to see the gravel road was very narrow and the forest on each side were quite dense. It would have been bad if they were to meet another driver. Once they had taken in their surroundings, they all grew excited, even Alex.
“This is so shady guys,” Alex said.
“Girl,” Chloe started. “I’m pretty sure this is the best we’ve ever done.”
“So go on?”
“What do you think?” Damian asked with a hint of sarcasm. “Yeah!” Carson slightly pushed down the gas and they continued. As they drove, the rain came to a slight mist. Together, they all came up with ‘what if’ stories pertaining to their surroundings.
“I swear,” Chloe started. “Could you just imagine if some creepy guy with a chainsaw walked out of the woods in front of us?”
“Okay, maybe we should make another rule,” Damian said laughing. “If that ever happens, the driver is to run the guys over without any hesitation.” They all laughed and Alex took her phone out.
“I’m adding it now just in case we keep it.”
“Guys, honestly, if I saw someone lying on the side of the road right now, I don’t think I’d stop,” Carson said laughing. “I’ve watched too many horror movies and that’s exactly what they want you to do.”
“Whoa!” Chloe yelled out. “Slow down!”
“What?” they all screamed back in fear that one of their ‘what-ifs were about to come true.
“I just saw a little girl back there. Turn around, Carson.”
“What? Are you serious?” Carson slowed down the jeep, put it in reverse, and slowly backed up until Chloe told him to stop. Damian rowed down his window and looked as hard as he could, but saw no girl.
“You may have just imagined it,” Damian said as he turned around.
“Shit!” she screamed again, just as Carson began to put the car in drive again.
“What!” they all hollered again, this time looking toward the woods for the little girl.
“Oh, my bad,” Chloe said. “Now my eyes are playing tricks on me.”
“God, Chloe,” Alex said holding her hand to her chest. I literally almost opened my door and took off running.” They all laughed again as Carson continued down the road.
“That’s the worst possible thing you could do,” Damian said still laughing. “And why was that almost your first reaction?”
“Another rule!” Carson yelled out. “You’re not allowed to leave the car.” Carson took out his phone as Chloe added the rule to hers. “Just what I thought,” he continued. “No signal. We never have signal.” They continued driving for a few minutes as Chloe swore up and down that she had seen a small girl dressed in white. Everyone joked about it, and soon it was dropped. For a little while they drove in silence.
They all kept their eyes on the road in front of them, and saw it as the same time. This sketching trip was definitely the best one yet. The trees ended and now they drove in between a huge cornfield.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Alex said laughing. “I can’t believe I just watched The Children of the Corn. I swear.”
“Guys, I can’t believe this,” Damian said. “This is so awesome” They continued driving as the cornfield seemed as if it would never end. They came up with some more comical ‘what-ifs’ again such as what they would do if the jeep had broken down.
“Who would live way out here?” Chloe asked. “It’s so far out. And . . . freaking creepy.”
“And what’s going to happen if this road goes on forever?” Alex asked knowing it would eventually lead somewhere. But she was wrong.
“Um . . . guys,” Carson started. “Are you guys looking ahead?” They all turned their attention to the road in front as Carson began to slow down.
“What the hell,” Chloe started. “Is this for real . . . like why would you even do this?” Carson came to a stop right where the road came to an end where the cornfield took over and continued in every direction.
“Okay, this is really creepy now,” Alex said. “Back up and let’s get the hell out of here.” Carson put the jeep in reverse and quickly backed up, running over the corn.
They all screamed as the back end of the jeep sunk downwards and hit something, making a loud noise
“What was that?” Alex screamed.
“I hit something,” Carson said as he put his jeep back into drive. As he hit the gas, the tires spun. Damian could tell Carson had the gas floored. They weren’t going anywhere. He let off the gas and looked at each of them.
“Let’s get out and check it out,” Damian said. “It’s the only thing we can do.” Damian looked out the window to see they were completely surrounded by corn. Only the front of the jeep was clear.
“Why did you have to back up so far?” Alex yelled at Carson. “This is the last time you’re ever driving.”
“Well, fine. I don’t want to freaking drive again. You guys can do it.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” Chloe said as she eyed the corn. “This is going to be so creepy.” Together they all slowly stepped out of the jeep into the corn field. Damian pushed the corn stalks down as he made his way toward the back.
“Shit, Carson!” Damian yelled as he saw a small trench in which the tires had sunken into out of site. He made his way to the very back where a large rock had been on the edge of the trench.
“No, no, no!” Carson yelled as he stared at the large dent in his jeep. “Dad’s going to kill me! Shit!”
“Shut up,” Alex said in agitation. “Let’s just get out of here.” Rain drops began falling again. Alex screamed as the sound of thunder filled the air.
“Okay,” Damian started. “Alex, you get in the jeep and the three of us will push.”
“I don’t know,” Chloe said as Alex quickly made her way to the driver’s side and hopped in.
“It’s worth a try, so come on,” Carson said as he placed his hands on the back. Damian and Chloe did the same.
“On the count of three,” Damian said. “One. Two. Three.” Damian began pushing with all of his might as he heard the tires spinning.
“It’s not working,” Chloe screamed as Alex let off.
They tried over and over for the next five minutes, but failed. “Okay, let’s get our phones out,” Chloe said. They each did so and met behind the jeep.
“No service,” Damian said.
“Me neither,” Chloe said.
“This whole thing was a bad idea,” Carson began. “If only you guys hadn’t dragged me into this whole sketching game.” But Damian knew he was glad to be a part of sketching, and would continue to be a part of it.
“Did you guys hear that?” Alex asked, looking behind her quickly.
“No,” Chloe said slowly. “Hear what?”
“I thought I heard someone . . . laughing.”
“It’s probably the rain or something,” Carson said. “We’ll have to start walking.” Before he could go any further, Damian too heard laughter. He looked at each of them to see they had all heard it this time.
“I told you,” Alex said in a whisper. “There is someone out there. Let’s get back inside.” They all quickly jumped into the jeep and locked the doors. “I want to leave,” Alex said panicking.
“Well , we can’t go anywhere!” Carson screamed. Something suddenly shoved the jeep from the back. They all turned around to see corn stalks moving. Damian knew the wind wasn’t that strong.
“Something is definitely out there,” Chloe whispered.
“I’m so scared,” Alex whispered through tears. Chloe turned to look toward Damian, and at once began screaming. They all looked forward to see a small girl dressed in a white gown and long black hair standing on the hood of the jeep. Her face looked possessed as she looked at them with hatred.
“Shit!” Alex screamed “I want out!” The girl began laughing loudly. She then raised her hands and brought them down toward the windshield with uncanny force for a young girl. The glass smashed everywhere. Damian covered his face and felt for the door handle.
“Get out!” he screamed. Once they were all out, the girl let out a piercing high-pitched demonic scream from the very top of the jeep. Suddenly, demonic screams filled the air from every direction. Damian looked all around and saw dark figures from every direction running in their direction.
“Run to the road!” Damian screamed as he headed in that direction. He heard a familiar scream behind him. Carson. He turned around to see nothing but the dead face of another creepy girl. She lunged at Damian and he fell to the ground. The sounds of Carson’s screams grew louder and began to sound as if he was being tortured.
Damian pushed the demon off of him as hard as he could to see three more running after him. He turned in the opposite direction quickly, catching a small glimpse of Carson’s body lying near the vehicle amongst the demons. There was blood everywhere. His screams were becoming fainter. He barely made it out of the jeep.
Damian ran as quickly as he could through the cornfield. He didn’t dare look back. The nasty screams coming out of their mouths was all he needed to know that they were close behind him.
Suddenly another scream came off to his left. It was another familiar scream.
“Don’t hurt me!” she screamed. Was it Alex? Or Chloe? Another torturing scream came from her mouth, and Damian knew she would end up the same way as Carson. No noises came from behind him anymore. He gained the courage to look behind him to see that he was no longer being chased. Another scream. Damian turned in that direction and ran quickly, not sure as to what the plan was.
The screams became louder and louder. He was getting close to her. Suddenly, his foot hit something on the ground causing him to tumble to the ground. He quickly jumped up to make sure he wasn’t about to be attacked. He wasn’t. He looked down to see it was an old rusty metal bar. He picked it up to find that it was quite heavy. It would make a good weapon. Damian held it firmly in his hand and quickly followed the screams until dark figures came into view. He slowed down.
There were three of them. They were about to finish her off. Damian didn’t have much time. He tried to contain his heavy breathing as much as possible. But it wasn’t working. He crept closer and closer. Fifteen feet. Ten feet. The creatures turned around quickly. He had been spotted. Without thinking, Damian took off running after them with the bar in his hands. He should be able to take them. After all they were just small children. But then he thought of what he had just witnessed. They were far from children. He probably did stand a chance at all.
He hit the first one as hard as he could. She fell to the ground, letting out screeching sounds. He was suddenly knocked to the ground by another. He kicked her and pushed her off of him. He jumped up to only be bitten by the other girl. He let out a scream of anger and swung the bar out of anger taking out the girl who had some of his flesh from the bite. He quickly turned around to take out the final girl who had just gotten back to her feet.
He did a quick three sixty to see they were safe . . . for now. Now he was able to turn his attention toward . . . Chloe. It was Chloe, the girl he secretly liked. She probably had no idea. There she was with wounds all over her body where the demonic children had bitten and scratched her. She struggled to sit up.
“I think they got Carson,” she cried. “What’s happening, Damian? What’s happening.”
“We don’t have much time,” Damian said quickly as he helped her to her feet. Her legs gave out and just before hitting the ground, Damian caught her. “We have to go.”
“Just leave me,” she said through tears. “I can’t walk. Save yourself.”
“Shh,” he said in a gentle whisper. “I’m going to help you. You just have to be as quiet as possible. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder and slowly made his way toward the road. He didn’t know if there was any chance at making it. He didn’t know what was chasing them and if they were still near the jeep. They weren’t human. They had to be demonic.
“All I wanted to do was go sketching,” Chloe said, still in tears. “And now Carson is gone, and probably Alex too.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Damian said knowing good and well he had no idea. She could have already ended up like Carson. The chances of them even making it out alive were slim. But he wasn’t going to tell Chloe that.
“We should have left earlier,” Chloe began again. “When the storm started and Alex got scared.”
“It’s okay,” Damian said growing tired already from carrying Chloe’s weight as well. “I need a break, okay.”
“But what if they get us?” she said, panic growing in her voice.
“They won’t, I promise. But they will if I don’t take a break. I’ll be too tired.” Chloe didn’t argue and they both sat down. It began raining harder and harder. Damian lifted his head up in the air and allowed the water to fall into his mouth. Wow he was thirsty.
Then the pain from his arm came back. He hadn’t noticed since it happened. He was too focused on getting as far away as possible, which wasn’t working.
“Are you okay?” Chloe asked, just now realizing he had been bitten.
“It hurts,” he said. He allowed rain to fall onto it, bringing it comfort.
“I wish we never came up with sketching,” Chloe began again. “I don’t want to be here.”
“But you are here,” a deep and evil-sounding voice answered from behind them. They quickly turned around to see a tall black-hooded figure. He had to be at least ten feet tall and was quite skinny. “You are in my territory now. My servants will be with you in a moment.” He let out a demonic laugh. Damian at once knew that this was the leader of them all. Damian stood up and pulled Chloe to him. She began screaming as he took off running, trying to keep Chloe at his pace. He grew further and further away from the laughter. They still had a chance. He wasn’t following them.
The laughter of the demonic children echoed throughout the field. Damian shook his head in fear, as if telling himself nothing was going to happen to them. More and more laughter from others joined in from every direction. A tear slowly flowed down Damian’s cheek. They were surrounded and there was nothing they could do. They would end up just like Carson. The sound of shuffling through the field grew closer and closer. Damian ran even faster; as fast as he had ever run.
They were quicker.